Haunted by Ancient Shouts and Cries

Haunted by Ancient Shouts and Cries

I stared at the merciless monsters ahead,
And tightened the grip on my gun,
Then lifted it to pull the trigger,
As dust and haze blocked out the sun.

Vietnamese soldiers charged towards me
Instinctively, I tossed a grenade
Their limbs and organs spluttered everywhere
My ears deafened after the bang it made

Blood drenched my clothes,
Fear seized my heart,
Love hanged on in despair,
Pain pierced me like a dart.

I laid there clutching my chest,
Hoping I’ll live to see my wife,
My vision blurred and blackened,
I stayed there holding onto life.

I was rescued by U.S paramedics,
Before my soul drifted away,
But they never saved me entirely,
‘Cause my mind was still at bay.

Many called me crazy after the war,
Most just stared at me pathetically,
They had no idea what I’ve been through, though,
The scenes still haunt me constantly.

I lived life on the edge back home,
After seeing horrors with my own two eyes,
I pitied myself for years to come,
Haunted by ancient shouts and cries.

This was a something the school English teacher asked me to write about.. Feel free to review.

Comments & reviews · 6
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User avatar
FruityBickel
Review

Lol I liked it. I understood the last verse... many soldiers after coming home from the war are considered 'insane'. Most end up with PTSD and even more end up committing suicide... anyway! I like the constant rhythm, and how you kept with the theme while also keeping up with the rhyme. Very well done.

Rock on.

Keep writing

~~Ayden

User avatar
elcuidador
Comment

Thanks for the small fix ups.. I appreciate it.

User avatar
TheWalkinDude
Review

Dude *hugs* I love you! I must say I'm totally drawn by this poem! I'm a big military person and I love reading stories and poems of war and all that. I'm in the midst of writing my own apocalypse stories and poems right now, and a lot of them will have to do with war gone horribly wrong. Of course, however much I liked your poem, there were a few parts I felt I needed to point out:

Then lifted it to pull the trigger,
#FF0000 ">As dust and haze blocked out the sun
I think sounds better here.

They had no idea what I’ve been through#FF0000 ">, though.
The scenes still haunt me constantly.
I think if you added this the rhythm wouldn't break here.

Other than those two things, I still really liked this poem. I'm surprised your teacher had you write about something like this.

User avatar
elcuidador
Comment

Woops lol, fixed it.

User avatar
Angela
Review
Angela wrote a review · Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:14 pm

A very good poem. I think that it kinda seemed like the writing was a little desperate at times, especially at the end of the first stanza. Also, there were a couple places where you missed a space or so. At the end where you say that this is what your English teacher asked you to 'right' about, you use the wrong 'write'. Use the 'write' version.

Overall I liked it. I've never read a war poem before, and this was a nice first-time experience. Please keep writing and I'm sorry if my review is bad.



You are all the colours in one, at full brightness.
— Jennifer Niven, 'All the Bright Places'